Originally Posted by
Terry
Just went and checked it out.
Hadn't really kept up on the band for a couple of years, following the last round of lawsuits over the name between the rest of the band and Blotzer's version of Ratt. So, the first surprise for me watching the recent video was that Cavazo and DeMartini were no longer in the group. You've basically got Pearcy and Croucier, and that's it in terms of anybody left in the group that was in the definitive lineup. I mean, it at least made some sense in 2014 or thereabouts, when Blotzer, DeMartini, Pearcy and Croucier comprised the band, along with Cavazo: obviously Crosby wasn't going to be there, but Cavazo is a capable enough guitarist and had something of a name leftover from his Quiet Riot days - chances are if you liked Ratt back in the 1980s, you'd at least have known who Cavazo was, as opposed to some nameless person, or some guy from a 2nd or 3rd tier 80s band like Black N Blue. So, that 2014 lineup was as close to whole as the band could have gotten, and Cavazo was a good fit, I thought.
As for Pearcy, I would be kind and say he was having an off night - surely any rock vocalist can have one here and there. The problem with Pearcy is that live singing was never his strong suit. That was the case when I saw the band open up for Billy Squier in 1984. It was also the case in 1997 and 1998 from a couple of video boots I saw of those years: Pearcy deteriorated as a frontman. Whatever one thought of Jizzy Pearl fronting the band in the early 2000s, the guy had energy and could sing the tunes. Even back 20 years ago, Pearcy was just...lazy. The voice was going, his lack of enthusiasm was patently obvious...lame, you know? Hasn't gotten much better in the years since, but in some ways that was just a continuation of what was always true for me where Ratt was concerned, in that the high point of Ratt was always the guitar work where live gigs were concerned. They had good tunes, too, and the records were solid. Pearcy has always had trouble delivering the goods live. Less noticeable so in the 1980s, but glaringly obvious now.
From that recent clip, with the departure of DeMartini and Croucier, 'Ratt' has...sort of really ceased to be something you could even call 'Ratt'...it's one step away from being Ratt featuring Stephen Pearcy, which is exactly what it will be should Croucier decide to bail, regardless of who owns the name.
I guess people are willing to make a lot of allowances to recapture some of the spirit of the music they liked so much in the 1980s. For me, when it comes to such things as Quiet Riot featuring Frankie Banali, Ratt featuring Bobby Blotzer, Ratt featuring Stephen Pearcy, Dokken featuring Don Dokken...fuck it, I'd rather see a well-rehearsed tribute band at that point. I get that these aging rock stars need to work, and if people are willing to pay the money to see them, fine. Do so, and by all means enjoy the show. For me, it's just easier to steer clear and leave it to memory.
I mean, it's hard for me to imagine even the most DIEhard Ratt fan can derive enjoyment out of the band with just Pearcy and Croucier left, and Pearcy unable to get the job done. I'd rather just dust off my Out Of The Cellar cd - great rock album - and give it a spin.